Long Half Marathon in Rochester

Or, “Chilly Half Marathon in Rochester.”

Or, “I Got Lost Running a Half Marathon in Rochester.”

I was looking for redemption after my January half marathon that was shortened to a 10.25K because of the cold. I tried to stay in shape over the last 3 weeks, and I was still shooting for a new half-marathon PR.

So yesterday morning, I got all my stuff together around 5:30 am:

I hit the road at 6:30 and pulled into the YMCA in Rochester (the race site) well before 8. It was a little chilly: I think it was around 10 to 15 degrees (that’s -12 to -9 Celsius for my metric friends). I decided to change from my orange and black trail running Drymax to my red “cold weather” Drymax socks:

I stepped outside to check on the course. Here I am with part of the course behind me:

I went to explore part of the course. This was the first thing I saw, and IT SCARED THE PANTS OFF ME:

WAS THE WHOLE COURSE GOING TO BE LIKE THAT?!? I figured that there might be spots like that, but I hoped they would just be here-and-there, and not all over the place. Farther down the trail, everything was great:

(The vast majority of the race was on running/bike trail that was 8 feet wide. Which was perfect for a small race like this.)

I had my homemade pace chart taped to my wrist, which HOPEFULLY had me finishing with a 1:29:00 PR (6:47 / mile):

First, before the half marathon started, the 5K took off. Here they are lining up:

And here they are just after the start:

Soon, 120 runners were lining up for the half-marathon. We were told that it was NOT a certified race, and it was most likely NOT exactly a half marathon. I believe we were told “It could be 12.8 miles. It could be 13.3. Who knows!” Shoot. I didn’t want to set a PR on a short course. That’s cheap. Like a 58 year old hooker. Who’s had no work done. But she NEEDS to have work done. Which is why she’s still a workin’ girl. Ya gotta pay for those new boobs somehow. I digress...

“1, 2, 3, GO!” And we were off!

I NEEDED to take it easy when I started out. (See my 4-part game-plan in Saturday’s post.) But I found myself running in 3rd place, so I eased up. I moved back to around 6th to 8th place, and I started chatting with runners around me. There were a lot of chatters! I loved it! Shortly after, I was in 6th place, and I held it there for a few miles.

Mile 1: 7:08. Good. Where I needed to be.
Mile 2: 6:47. A little fast for this early on, but OK.
Mile 3: 6:37. TOO fast. Ease up.

The course was looping all over the place: we’d cross these 2 little rivers back-and-forth. It was constant tiny rolling hills, but not bad by any means (I first started feeling the hills around mile 9). There were lots of turns, but the course was clear of ice and snow. It was just a little sandy. Here’s the loopy course. Try to make sense of this:

Mile 4: 6:45.
Mile 5: 6:49. Overall, 12 seconds behind my goal, but I figured I’d be farther back. I hoped I didn’t go out too hard...

Right at mile 5, I started talking to the guy in 5th place. We chatted for a bit - we both knew Bill N, who organizes a lot of dus and tris in the Rochester area. I took off in front of him, and we wished each other luck. I was now in 5th. I could see 3rd and 4th place running side-by-side under a minute in front of me.

Mile 6: 6:13. (a little short)
Mile 7: 7:18. (a little long)

There was no “halfway marker,” as it was a looping race. Doing the math, I would have hit the halfway mark at 45:06. That’s right about where I wanted to be! (Maybe even 10-20 seconds faster.)

Mile 8: 6:43. Miles 7 and 8 were done as the second loop around a little lake, so I was passing a lot of people who were still on their first loop. I was saying “Good morning” to everyone. It was a very friendly race.

Just after hitting mile 8, it was time to turn back towards home. I was starting to hurt.

Mile 9: 6:54. Hurting.

Just before mile 10, I technically got a little lost. I had just lost sight of the 2 guys running in front of me, and I didn’t know if I needed to go under this foot bridge or up to the street above (the trail split). There weren’t any arrows or cones on the path. I had to make a quick call. “I think we ran along the street up above...” So I took the high road. A few seconds later, and I knew I was wrong. “Shit.” I needed to go under that bridge. So instead of turning around, I just sprinted across 4 lanes of traffic (I believe it was Broadway), down a steep hill that was icy in spots, and back to the trail that I should have never left. Talk about adding in another hill. Damn it. Oh well. That led to mile 10 being a little longer than it should have been...

Mile 10: 6:57. At mile 10, we had to run by the finish area. Torture! We had one last out-and-back section to do. I was really dead. But I tried to start picking up the pace. I was still trying to catch those 2 guys in front of me.

Mile 11: 6:41. Hurting. Real. Bad. Just after mile 11, we turned for the last time and headed straight back towards the finish (see map). I met the guy who I talked with at mile 5 (who was now running in 7th or 8th place), and he said “Go Steve! You’ve got those 2 guys in front of you!” I was gunning for them. But I was hashed. I was breathing REALLY hard - like Michael Jackson at a Chuck E. Cheese’s.

Mile 12: 6:21. My splits were moving in the right direction - I was getting faster. But I was HURTING. When I start to hurt near the end of a race, I actually speed up because I think to myself: “If you speed up, the hurting will be over sooner.” Seriously. Pharmie and I just had this conversation, and she thinks I’m crazy. She told me that “normal people” slow up when they feel like they are going to die; they don’t run faster. Is there anyone else who thinks/runs like me?

My core was SO TIGHT. I looked over my shoulder with about .7 miles left, and I knew I had 5th place - I couldn’t see anyone behind me. “Damn it Steve, that’s not the point! Go for your PR! You’re doing this for TIME! GO!!” You’re right, voices in my head. Why would I stop listening to you now?

Mile 13 and the last 0.1: 6:44. (6:07/mile pace)

Official Time: 1:28:05
5th Overall out of 120
6:43 / mile pace
PR by 1:20

I had my PR!! I high-fived Mike in the finisher’s chute (Mike is the one who let me know about this race). Here’s the tiny chute for the tiny half-marathon:

We started talking, and right away everyone was saying the course was long! I heard 13.43, then 13.37, then 13.45. So I PRed on a long course!!! Later, it was determined to be about 13.4 miles.

IF that’s true, and IF I ran that pace for 13.1 instead of 13.4, my finishing time should have been 1:26:10. But it wasn’t, so I’m using 1:28:05 as my official half marathon PR. (Oh, and if it was 13.4, my pace was really 6:34, not 6:43. But I know - I need to let this go and move on.)

Here’s a shot of me about 2 minutes after finishing:

(As I pointed out yesterday, there’s snot all over me: a little on my black shirt to the left, and a lot on my grey hoodie to the lower right.)

And here’s some snot I blew all over the sidewalk. I thought it was a rather graceful, elegant form:

I talked with Mike some more, and then went inside to warm up. They had chili and hot cider!!!

...and Valentines cookies:

Mike’s wife was actually the one serving the chili. It was great to meet you guys!!! Mike was on the committee for this event. He knows that I’ll wear ANYTHING for a race, and he promised me a pair of pink socks if I came down to the race. He actually gave me 2 pairs! (one pair for me, one for Pharmie)

Thanks Mike!
(Notice I’m still a little pink from a little wind-burn)

After the awards, I talked to some local triathletes and duathletes. Then a stranger stopped me and asked if I blogged. I smiled. She said she stops by to read now and then! We chatted for a bit, and then I was ready to head home.

I’ve been a lucky boy in the last few days, so I’ve got a few bits of good news to post in the next few days. (No, no one is pregnant. And no Sarah, we still don’t have a parrot either.) Y’all come back now, ya hear?